WE- and ELF-informed classroom practices: proposals from a pre-service teacher education programme in Italy

Abstract

AbstractThe long-standing research in World Englishes (WE) and, more recently, in English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) has greatly contributed to problematizing several areas in connection to English Language Teaching, highlighting in particular the importance of teacher education as a first and fundamental step towards a more “inclusive” and “realistic” approach in ELT. A WE- and ELF-informed teacher education can indeed play a pivotal role in promoting awareness of the sociolinguistic and cultural changes brought about by the pluralization of English on the one hand, and of its function as a lingua franca on the other hand, and contribute to fostering a critical evaluation of ELT approaches, and materials, traditionally based on an Anglo-centric monolithic view of language and culture, taking account of different viewpoints in connection to the current modified reality of English. This paper will illustrate findings from an ongoing research study aimed at investigating trainee teachers’ beliefs concerning ELT pedagogic practices inclusive of the current pluralization of English. The study has been carried out with trainee teachers of English attending pre-service TFA (Tirocinio Formativo Attivo) and PAS (Percorso Abilitante Speciale) teacher education courses at the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, University of Verona, Italy, where part of the English Language course focused on issues related to WE, ELF and their pedagogical implications. By means of questionnaires and interviews, as well as class reflections and materials developed by the trainees as part of the course, the aim was to investigate to what extent a WE- and ELF-aware teacher education can contribute to expanding and/or modifying teachers’ awareness of the above issues in pedagogical terms. Findings related to the participants’ comments and practical proposals for the inclusion of WE- and ELF-informed activities in their teaching practices, as well as their critical reflections about problematic points, particularly in the local context and syllabi, will also be discussed.